Let's take a walk: Hanoi launches free tour around Old Quarter craft streets

By Vy An   October 10, 2016 | 12:56 am PT
Let's take a walk: Hanoi launches free tour around Old Quarter craft streets
Tourists at a scarf shop in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress
In an unprecedented partnership with a travel agency, the city also sets up a tourist support center in Hoan Kiem District.

The tourism department in Hanoi has partnered with tour operator Vietnamtourism to launch a free tour through craft and guild streets in the historic Old Quarter.

Tourists will have one and a half hours exploring the downtown area, where each of the streets is named after the traditional craft or merchandise there, such as Hang Quat for paper fans, Hang Dao for textiles or Hang Thiec for ironware.

The tour runs from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. between Wednesday and Sunday, except holidays.

Similar free tours to other landmarks around the capital city are expected to be launched soon.

Tourists can book the service at the newly-opened Tourist Information and Support Center at 28 Hang Dau Street in Hoan Kiem District, or call the hotline 0911 08 19 68.

The center is open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., providing free maps and travel guidebooks. The staff speaks English, French, Chinese and Korean.

Hanoi has become a highly recommended travel destination thanks to its thousand-year-old charm. The city has been named the best value destination in the TripIndex report for the past three years.

Last year, Lonely Planet named Hanoi’s Old Quarter among the places to see at least once in a lifetime, while the visual social network Pinterest ranked the capital city the third most-pinned location of all time.

A recent survey by MasterCard ranked Hanoi 13th among 20 fastest-growing tourist cities, thanks to 11.64 percent of annual growth of foreign arrivals since 2009.

The city received nearly 1.2 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2016.

Related news:

>Hanoi, Saigon among fastest-growing tourist cities in the world

>Travel back in time with Vietnam’s traditional guilds festival

 
 
go to top